I imagine it's some of both. Studies have shown that the brain is in a passive mode when it's watching television, as opposed to the more active mode it takes when reading a book or newspaper. Too much time spent in that passive mode could feed on itself, leading to more and more of the behavior.
But I imagine a large part of it is due to those who are depressed at any one given time, not to mention any populations who might feel "trapped" in their homes. Elderly people, parents at home with very young or difficult children, the chronically ill, and depressed people probably have the television on for company as much as anything. I went through a two-year depression and can say easily that it was a companion when I needed one, but it was also numbing. Once I got better, I found myself getting up from the couch and turning it off when I wasn't interested. But before I got better, it pretty much ran day and (when I couldn't sleep) night.
I think it would be interesting to know when those hours of television occurred -- during the daytime, or during evening time. Television programming is so different during different times of the day -- in the daytime, everyone has a problem (either on soap operas or talk shows); at night, there is more diverse programming.
The links between television viewing and our lives are so fascinating. How many studies have been done on links between violence in pop culture and in real life? Many, and yet we're still not sure of the answer. Probably the same with this study. It'll be interesting to see if they do follow-ups.
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Alysia, that's a really interesting story.
I imagine it's some of both. Studies have shown that the brain is in a passive mode when it's watching television, as opposed to the more active mode it takes when reading a book or newspaper. Too much time spent in that passive mode could feed on itself, leading to more and more of the behavior.
But I imagine a large part of it is due to those who are depressed at any one given time, not to mention any populations who might feel "trapped" in their homes. Elderly people, parents at home with very young or difficult children, the chronically ill, and depressed people probably have the television on for company as much as anything. I went through a two-year depression and can say easily that it was a companion when I needed one, but it was also numbing. Once I got better, I found myself getting up from the couch and turning it off when I wasn't interested. But before I got better, it pretty much ran day and (when I couldn't sleep) night.
I think it would be interesting to know when those hours of television occurred -- during the daytime, or during evening time. Television programming is so different during different times of the day -- in the daytime, everyone has a problem (either on soap operas or talk shows); at night, there is more diverse programming.
The links between television viewing and our lives are so fascinating. How many studies have been done on links between violence in pop culture and in real life? Many, and yet we're still not sure of the answer. Probably the same with this study. It'll be interesting to see if they do follow-ups.
November 18, 2008 - 9:16amThis Comment
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